my propagation station

Everything was going well.  Sun, blue skies...

Garden looking perky...

...and then...frost.

I knew the frost was coming and would severely damage both flower buds and tender leaves of plants, so I tried to cover everything with sheets...

I had too much, though, and the weight of the sheets - even with the assist of stakes in some places, was damaging thin stems.  I had to pick and cover the most vulnerable, cross my fingers, and hope for the best.

ARGH!!!

So many frost-burned leaves (salvia, wild geranium, my mints, black-eyed susans, some hostas, some coral bells).

Worse, the arching flowers of my coral bells, JUST getting ready to bloom...flattened.

Some foxgloves and peonies look the same way - even the ones that were covered with pillow cases!  I staked them and am hoping for the best.  I keep reminding myself - "What's great about living in a place with 4 seasons is that as soon as you get thoroughly sick of one season, another one starts."  I am definitely sick of cold weather and have been stomping around in my thick coat, marking off the days until we reach the 70s again (Thursday). 

I've taken advantage of this SLOW start to the growing season to propagate in a different way.  I'm experimenting with stem cuttings, which is exactly what it sounds like.  Cut a stem, just below a leafed-out area.  Remove the leaves.  Trim off excess leaves above.  Dip tip in rooting hormone and place it into a container with your favorite soil-less combination (mine is vermiculite and peat moss).  Keep moist and wait.  First, I've got some no-brainers.  Sedum is the easiest thing to root and so I took full advantage of the sedum mixes from last year's clearance sales.

This is close to 50 clippings, from 10 different types of sedum. They should all root in 2 - 3 weeks - and then they can be gently removed and placed into their own little pots.  By August, they should be large enough to put into the garden, where they'll become their own nice-sized plant by next year.

I did some research and tried to do the same thing with some of my perennials. I've got 105 cuttings in here (the two empty holes are for terra cotta pots, which, when filled with water, will slow-release it and therefore keep the soil mix moist without me having to hassle with it).

I'm attempting to root hydrangeas, spirea, creeping jenny, ferns, coreopsis, creeping and lemon thyme, salvia, euphorbia, catmint, false indigo, deutzia, culver's root, and wild geranium.  It took about an hour to prepare the cuttings.  I splurged last year and spent $40 on a 'Limelight' hydrangea...how amazing would it be if I was able to get SIX new plants this year for free?  According to what I read, this doesn't need light.  Just cover it to maintain humidity and occasionally check the water levels in the pots to make sure that it doesn't go dry.  These will take longer to root - maybe 6 weeks - and I certainly don't expect everything to root.  Actually, I will be shocked if even 25% roots.  But whatever roots is a new free plant with no real effort from me.  It will be interesting to see what happens!

Beautiful birds migrating through right now.  I'm in love with the Baltimore orioles!  They eat fruit, so I am constantly replacing the cut-up oranges in the feeders.

Above is an immature oriole, not quite as brightly colored but getting there!  Below you can see the rose-breasted grosbeaks with the orioles, another new arrival here.

Of course, we get a lot of the usual visitors, like these red-headed woodpeckers...

...and the pileated.

Red-wing blackbirds are nesting in our cattails now, and get extremely nervous if I venture down to the pond's edge.

Unfortunately, I have to go down there a lot, because I added a bed of white cosmos for some instant gratification color this summer, and seedlings are coming up, despite the cold weather.

Tabitha is taking advantage of the the chilly sunlight, too.

Claudia doesn't seem to care WHAT the temperature is.

I hope I can get to that zen place someday.  Have a great week!